I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Equity Studies at York University. I hold a PhD in Political Science and International Development from the University of Guelph.
This article presents a case study of how COVID-19 has increased the precarity and risks of labou... more This article presents a case study of how COVID-19 has increased the precarity and risks of labour exploitation for vulnerable populations. Looking at the situation of LGBTQ+ Venezuelan asylum seekers in Brazil during COVID-19, it examines how the challenges they faced were exacerbated during the pandemic and how the Brazilian government’s poor response to COVID-19 and lockdown policies forced LGBTQ+ Venezuelan asylum seekers to take greater risks that exposed them to the virus. Based on 56 surveys with LGBTQ+ Venezuelan asylum seekers in Manaus, Brazil, the article discusses how COVID-19 impacted the livelihoods of LGBTQ+ Venezuelan asylum seekers. Specifically, it demonstrates that transgender and travesti Venezuelan asylum seekers experienced more labour precarity, discrimination, and violence during the pandemic than their cisgender counterparts.
This paper argues that the American ABC (Abstain, Be Faithful, and Condomise) HIV prevention mode... more This paper argues that the American ABC (Abstain, Be Faithful, and Condomise) HIV prevention model has failed in Botswana as a result of cultural irrelevance, the imposition of dominant American Christian ideals and a lack of local involvement and consultation. The paper will first examine the development of the American ABC Model and how it is distributed in Botswana. The second section will demonstrate the cultural irrelevance of the ABC model by examining the sexual practices of four ethnic groups within Botswana: the Bakalanga, Bangwato, Basarwa, and Baherero. The breakdown of the ABC model and its irrelevance to Botswana culture will demonstrate how the export of dominant American Christian ideals have strongly ignored and undermined sexual norms and practices. Lastly, the paper will demonstrate the importance of including local actors such as chiefs and indigenous NGOs in effectively deal with the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Botswana. n 2008, there were an estimated 33.4 million ...
This short article contributes to the growing scholarship on the complex ways sexual orientation ... more This short article contributes to the growing scholarship on the complex ways sexual orientation and gender identity impact people’s experiences of migration, informal labour, and sex work. Drawing on surveys and interviews with twelve trans Venezuelan asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in Brazil and six key informant interviews with sex workers, trans activists, and humanitarian and NGO staff, this short article asks: How has COVID-19 affected the livelihoods of trans Venezuelan asylum seekers and undocumented migrants?
Queer migration and counter-movement literature are established subsets of social science scholar... more Queer migration and counter-movement literature are established subsets of social science scholarship that, together, could illuminate debates around queer rights activism in a migration context. Y...
In the context of disasters, the term ‘resilience’ is viewed by some humanitarians as overused, u... more In the context of disasters, the term ‘resilience’ is viewed by some humanitarians as overused, underdefined and difficult to operationalise. Moreover, much of this process has been expert- and humanitarian-led, leaving out the understanding of resilience at the local level, among disaster-affected people and in local languages. And when local input from disaster-affected households is included, their understanding of resilience is often filtered through expert and professional opinions. Looking at the case study of resilience-oriented interventions in Tacloban City, Philippines, after Typhoon Haiyan, this study examines local conceptions of resilience by disaster-affected households. Designed and led by local researchers who were also Haiyan survivors, we conducted in-depth interviews with 31 Haiyan survivors in a typhoon-affected community. Results reveal that disaster-affected people have drastically different conceptions of resilience than those promoted by institutions, such as...
Abstract Local people's perceptions of recovery are commonly overlooked, even though they sho... more Abstract Local people's perceptions of recovery are commonly overlooked, even though they should be at the centre of the recovery process. This paper aims to understand the ways in which locals view recovery and, more specifically, how the local definitions of recovery compare with the concept of ‘building back better’ extensively used by policy makers, scholars and humanitarian agencies. The study draws on 460 questionnaire-based surveys with people affected by Typhoon Haiyan in three barangays, the smallest administrative unit in the Philippines, in Tacloban City as well as twenty key informant interviews with community leaders, and staff from non-government organizations and the government. The paper shows that a large majority of affected people see recovery as coming back to normal and only a few associate the recovery with reducing disaster risk. It further identifies a divide between outside organizations and local people on how they perceive “build back better”, where a lack of common understanding of what ‘better’ means and limited support, can lead to unsuccessful recovery.
Abstract When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on November 8th, 2013, it took the lives of o... more Abstract When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on November 8th, 2013, it took the lives of over 6300 people. Many of those who died were men who did not evacuate to protect their homes. As a result, widowhood was a significant and devastating consequence of Haiyan, but widows were also one of the most underserved vulnerable populations in the aftermath. Drawing on interviews with 15 widows who lost their husbands during Haiyan, this case report argues that the burial assistance program did not prioritize the dignity of those who have died and the widows who must claim the assistance. Our fieldwork uncovered three main issues with the burial assistance program: 1) mass graves resulted in the burial of many unidentified bodies, 2) bureaucratic challenges complicated the process, and 3) widows felt like they were “selling the dead” when claiming the funds. Overall, many of the widows felt the program did not consider their vulnerability and severe needs. In the end, despite this being the only form of humanitarian assistance targeted at widows, the majority of the widows we interviewed were unable to access it. We argue that these issues stem from the absence of a survivor-centered approach to decision-making and program design. We recommend the creation of a streamlined one-stop shop for burial assistance applications and claims at the local barangay level. In addition, we argue that more dignified options are needed to assist widows in post-disaster recovery so they do not feel like they are “selling the dead” in the case of Haiyan’s burial assistance program.
This article presents a case study of how COVID-19 has increased the precarity and risks of labou... more This article presents a case study of how COVID-19 has increased the precarity and risks of labour exploitation for vulnerable populations. Looking at the situation of LGBTQ+ Venezuelan asylum seekers in Brazil during COVID-19, it examines how the challenges they faced were exacerbated during the pandemic and how the Brazilian government’s poor response to COVID-19 and lockdown policies forced LGBTQ+ Venezuelan asylum seekers to take greater risks that exposed them to the virus. Based on 56 surveys with LGBTQ+ Venezuelan asylum seekers in Manaus, Brazil, the article discusses how COVID-19 impacted the livelihoods of LGBTQ+ Venezuelan asylum seekers. Specifically, it demonstrates that transgender and travesti Venezuelan asylum seekers experienced more labour precarity, discrimination, and violence during the pandemic than their cisgender counterparts.
This paper argues that the American ABC (Abstain, Be Faithful, and Condomise) HIV prevention mode... more This paper argues that the American ABC (Abstain, Be Faithful, and Condomise) HIV prevention model has failed in Botswana as a result of cultural irrelevance, the imposition of dominant American Christian ideals and a lack of local involvement and consultation. The paper will first examine the development of the American ABC Model and how it is distributed in Botswana. The second section will demonstrate the cultural irrelevance of the ABC model by examining the sexual practices of four ethnic groups within Botswana: the Bakalanga, Bangwato, Basarwa, and Baherero. The breakdown of the ABC model and its irrelevance to Botswana culture will demonstrate how the export of dominant American Christian ideals have strongly ignored and undermined sexual norms and practices. Lastly, the paper will demonstrate the importance of including local actors such as chiefs and indigenous NGOs in effectively deal with the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Botswana. n 2008, there were an estimated 33.4 million ...
This short article contributes to the growing scholarship on the complex ways sexual orientation ... more This short article contributes to the growing scholarship on the complex ways sexual orientation and gender identity impact people’s experiences of migration, informal labour, and sex work. Drawing on surveys and interviews with twelve trans Venezuelan asylum seekers and undocumented migrants in Brazil and six key informant interviews with sex workers, trans activists, and humanitarian and NGO staff, this short article asks: How has COVID-19 affected the livelihoods of trans Venezuelan asylum seekers and undocumented migrants?
Queer migration and counter-movement literature are established subsets of social science scholar... more Queer migration and counter-movement literature are established subsets of social science scholarship that, together, could illuminate debates around queer rights activism in a migration context. Y...
In the context of disasters, the term ‘resilience’ is viewed by some humanitarians as overused, u... more In the context of disasters, the term ‘resilience’ is viewed by some humanitarians as overused, underdefined and difficult to operationalise. Moreover, much of this process has been expert- and humanitarian-led, leaving out the understanding of resilience at the local level, among disaster-affected people and in local languages. And when local input from disaster-affected households is included, their understanding of resilience is often filtered through expert and professional opinions. Looking at the case study of resilience-oriented interventions in Tacloban City, Philippines, after Typhoon Haiyan, this study examines local conceptions of resilience by disaster-affected households. Designed and led by local researchers who were also Haiyan survivors, we conducted in-depth interviews with 31 Haiyan survivors in a typhoon-affected community. Results reveal that disaster-affected people have drastically different conceptions of resilience than those promoted by institutions, such as...
Abstract Local people's perceptions of recovery are commonly overlooked, even though they sho... more Abstract Local people's perceptions of recovery are commonly overlooked, even though they should be at the centre of the recovery process. This paper aims to understand the ways in which locals view recovery and, more specifically, how the local definitions of recovery compare with the concept of ‘building back better’ extensively used by policy makers, scholars and humanitarian agencies. The study draws on 460 questionnaire-based surveys with people affected by Typhoon Haiyan in three barangays, the smallest administrative unit in the Philippines, in Tacloban City as well as twenty key informant interviews with community leaders, and staff from non-government organizations and the government. The paper shows that a large majority of affected people see recovery as coming back to normal and only a few associate the recovery with reducing disaster risk. It further identifies a divide between outside organizations and local people on how they perceive “build back better”, where a lack of common understanding of what ‘better’ means and limited support, can lead to unsuccessful recovery.
Abstract When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on November 8th, 2013, it took the lives of o... more Abstract When Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines on November 8th, 2013, it took the lives of over 6300 people. Many of those who died were men who did not evacuate to protect their homes. As a result, widowhood was a significant and devastating consequence of Haiyan, but widows were also one of the most underserved vulnerable populations in the aftermath. Drawing on interviews with 15 widows who lost their husbands during Haiyan, this case report argues that the burial assistance program did not prioritize the dignity of those who have died and the widows who must claim the assistance. Our fieldwork uncovered three main issues with the burial assistance program: 1) mass graves resulted in the burial of many unidentified bodies, 2) bureaucratic challenges complicated the process, and 3) widows felt like they were “selling the dead” when claiming the funds. Overall, many of the widows felt the program did not consider their vulnerability and severe needs. In the end, despite this being the only form of humanitarian assistance targeted at widows, the majority of the widows we interviewed were unable to access it. We argue that these issues stem from the absence of a survivor-centered approach to decision-making and program design. We recommend the creation of a streamlined one-stop shop for burial assistance applications and claims at the local barangay level. In addition, we argue that more dignified options are needed to assist widows in post-disaster recovery so they do not feel like they are “selling the dead” in the case of Haiyan’s burial assistance program.
Narratives of disasters are full of binaries – victim/survivor, vulnerability/resilience and deva... more Narratives of disasters are full of binaries – victim/survivor, vulnerability/resilience and devastation/recovery. Immediately after a disaster, there are stories of destruction and death. But as people start to recover, victims become survivors, and vulnerability exists alongside community and individual resilience. The Philippines – a country well-versed in this exercise and known for its vulnerability as well as its resilience – experienced Typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda), the strongest storm to have made landfall in reported history, on 8 November 2013. Despite the high level of devastation, the overriding impression, from media coverage, government officials, NGO reports and general sentiment – was one of resilience. The common explanation for these early self-recovery efforts is the Filipino principle of bayanihan (collective cooperation), which is commonly evoked after major disasters by NGOs, governments and the media to demonstrate the resilience of the Filipino people. But what is the bayanihan spirit, and does this indigenous principle really serve to increase community resilience in the modern age?
The presence or absence of a correlation between climate risk and conflict has been the subject o... more The presence or absence of a correlation between climate risk and conflict has been the subject of many debates in the literature. Moreover, scholars have hypothesized on the implications of climate risk for armed conflicts. However, the available literature says little about how this double impact is experienced by affected populations. How do people affected by armed conflict and climate risk describe their experience? What coping and adaptation mechanisms are they developing, and what risk management strategies are they adopting when confronted to this double impact? This literature review tackles these questions by looking at case studies from the Sahel, the MiddleEast and South-East Asia.
Case studies that highlight people’s experiences of this double impact are at best scarce. In general, the literature that examines the climate risk-conflict nexus is speculative, or it focuses heavily on structural factors that may affect the climate risk-conflict nexus. This inevitably limits our understanding of the micro dimensions of this phenomenon, and the possibility of coming to general conclusions about the human dimensions of this double impact. The experience of armed conflict and climate risk impacts primarily populations in rural areas, although people often continue to experience situations of conflict and to live with climate risks once they relocate to urban areas or to refugee camps. Based on the available literature, the type or frequency of climate shocks experienced does not seem to have implications on how impacted populations respond to the climate risk-armed conflict nexus. By and large, findings from the Sahel, the Middle-East and South-East Asia show an incapacity to mitigate the problems posed by climate change, which, when coupled with the presence of armed and violent actors, force populations to turn to migration. The available literature does not discuss strategies of adaptation adopted by people that revolve around options other than migration. Yet the absence of evidence of adaptation is not proof that impacted communities do not find resourceful and creative ways to respond in situ to this double impact. There is a pressing need for more rigorous research that will allow for a better understanding of this experience.
While the climate risk-armed conflict nexus has thus far not been the target of specific concerted humanitarian interventions in the regions studied in this report, there is evidence that climate risk is a growing concern among the various actors present in places where armed conflicts thrive. As analysts take stock of the current humanitarian response to this double impact, they are identifying a need for more research, for the strengthening of the role of institutions, for resilience and democracy building, for the tackling of terrorism, and for the recognition of the role played by the globalized economy and its implication for the climate risk-conflict nexus.
This project is a collaboration between the University of Guelph's Community Engaged Scholarship ... more This project is a collaboration between the University of Guelph's Community Engaged Scholarship Institute and Student Life. In the spring 2018, a community needs assessment was conducted to support the University of Guelph's Experiential Learning Hub and the University's strategic priority to expand and enhance experiential learning for students. The needs assessment sought to better understand community partners' needs and perspectives, and to strengthen experiential learning partnerships between community organizations and the University.
In this paper, we argue that the recognition and protection of the rights of migrant workers, the... more In this paper, we argue that the recognition and protection of the rights of migrant workers, their families, and their communities must be the focal point of any application of the capabilities approach. Moreover, this focus can contribute to reconciling a rights-focused human development approach within global governance priorities for managing migration.
""In 2011, the OMI was asked by WAVE Foundation to consult on the viability of a livestock micro-... more ""In 2011, the OMI was asked by WAVE Foundation to consult on the viability of a livestock micro-insurance program in Bangladesh. The consultation was comprised of a thorough literature review on the subject and two weeks of field research gathering data in the province of Chuadanga in Bangladesh. This report summarizes the findings of the OMI team and concludes that Black Bengal Goat Micro-Insurance is not viable for Chuadanga.
""
Course Outline for Proposed First Year Seminar:
Fire, Floods and Rising Tides: People on the Mov... more Course Outline for Proposed First Year Seminar:
Fire, Floods and Rising Tides: People on the Move in the Age of Climate Change will provide students with an enquiry-based seminar into the significant, inter-connected and complex issues of climate change, climate justice and climate refugees. This course will provide an introduction to the defining issue of our century: climate change. Students will learn about the issues of climate change, disasters and displacement and discuss the implications of these phenomena on human kind and the possible individual and governmental solutions that exist. Students will be equipped with critical thinking skills, which they will gain through enquiry-based learning that involves identifying ‘what we know,’ ‘what we don’t know,’ and ‘what we need to find out,’ to discuss their cases. They will also develop problem-solving, research and communication skills through debating, role-playing, refection papers and a final essay. In the end, students will leave this course with the analytical skills for how to assess, engage and find solutions for the big issues of our time.
The Disaster Prevention and Management Seminar Series @ The University of Auckland.
This is my... more The Disaster Prevention and Management Seminar Series @ The University of Auckland.
This is my presentation in February 2017 at the Auckland University of Technology on the role of migrant remittances in post-disaster recovery after Typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda) in Tacloban City, Philippines.
This was a presentation for a panel I was on at the CASID Conference at the University of Ottawa ... more This was a presentation for a panel I was on at the CASID Conference at the University of Ottawa on June 3rd, 2015. CASID is the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development.
Increasingly in the Global South, private and collective remittances are playing a stronger role in natural disaster response and recovery. The literature suggests that migrant remittances flows increase in the aftermath of natural disasters, acting as a safety net for households that have migrants abroad (World Bank 2006; Clarke and Wallsten 2004; Yang 2007; Mohapatra et al. 2012). Policy makers and academics find remittances attractive because they are a means of financing that reaches households relatively directly and they represent an immediate, flexible and often predictable source of income (Swithern 2014). While remittances often overcome many of challenges faced by humanitarian assistance in regards to timing, distribution and bureaucracy, there are concerns that using remittances as a form of ‘self-insurance’ can distort the post-disaster aid allocation by government and aid organizations. There is also the danger that migration and remittances is utilized as a form of ‘self-help’ for individuals and households attempting to escape poverty, which contributes to the evasion of state responsibility (de Haas 2010). This paper will engage in this debate between Remittance Proponents and Remittance Critics and explore the potential and pitfalls of using remittances as a form of self-help in disaster response.
Challenges to Resilience, Rights, and Equity during COVID-19, 2022
This working paper is the result of a project that examines the impact of COVID-19 on women and g... more This working paper is the result of a project that examines the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls in urban poor communities in Metro Manila. We focus on resilience, rights, and equity to ascertain the broader structural and cultural challenges and constraints that determine how COVID-19 has affected women and girls and their families in urban poor communities. We also briefly explore some of the solutions that women, community-workers, faith-based organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and public servants have devised in the face of these challenges.
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This literature review tackles these questions by looking at case studies from the Sahel, the MiddleEast and South-East Asia.
Case studies that highlight people’s experiences of this double impact are at best scarce. In general, the literature that examines the climate risk-conflict nexus is speculative, or it focuses heavily on structural factors that may affect the climate risk-conflict nexus. This inevitably limits our understanding of the micro dimensions of this phenomenon, and the possibility of coming to general conclusions about the human dimensions of this double impact. The experience of armed conflict and climate risk impacts primarily populations in rural areas, although people often continue to experience situations of conflict and to live with climate risks once they relocate to urban areas or to refugee camps. Based on the available literature, the type or frequency of climate shocks experienced does not seem to have implications on how impacted populations respond to the climate risk-armed conflict nexus. By and large, findings from the Sahel, the Middle-East and South-East Asia show an incapacity to mitigate the problems posed by climate change, which, when coupled with the presence of armed and violent actors, force populations to turn to migration. The available literature does not discuss strategies of adaptation adopted by people that revolve around options other than migration. Yet the absence of evidence of adaptation is not proof that impacted communities do not find resourceful and creative ways to respond in situ to this double impact. There is a pressing need for more rigorous research that will allow for a better understanding of this experience.
While the climate risk-armed conflict nexus has thus far not been the target of specific concerted humanitarian interventions in the regions studied in this report, there is evidence that climate risk is a growing concern among the various actors present in places where armed conflicts thrive. As analysts take stock of the current humanitarian response to this double impact, they are identifying a need for more research, for the strengthening of the role of institutions, for resilience and democracy building, for the tackling of terrorism, and for the recognition of the role played by the globalized economy and its implication for the climate risk-conflict nexus.
families, and their communities must be the focal point of any application of the capabilities approach. Moreover, this focus can contribute to reconciling a rights-focused human development approach within global governance priorities for managing migration.
""
Fire, Floods and Rising Tides: People on the Move in the Age of Climate Change will provide students with an enquiry-based seminar into the significant, inter-connected and complex issues of climate change, climate justice and climate refugees. This course will provide an introduction to the defining issue of our century: climate change. Students will learn about the issues of climate change, disasters and displacement and discuss the implications of these phenomena on human kind and the possible individual and governmental solutions that exist. Students will be equipped with critical thinking skills, which they will gain through enquiry-based learning that involves identifying ‘what we know,’ ‘what we don’t know,’ and ‘what we need to find out,’ to discuss their cases. They will also develop problem-solving, research and communication skills through debating, role-playing, refection papers and a final essay. In the end, students will leave this course with the analytical skills for how to assess, engage and find solutions for the big issues of our time.
This is my presentation in February 2017 at the Auckland University of Technology on the role of migrant remittances in post-disaster recovery after Typhoon Haiyan (local name Yolanda) in Tacloban City, Philippines.
Increasingly in the Global South, private and collective remittances are playing a stronger role in natural disaster response and recovery. The literature suggests that migrant remittances flows increase in the aftermath of natural disasters, acting as a safety net for households that have migrants abroad (World Bank 2006; Clarke and Wallsten 2004; Yang 2007; Mohapatra et al. 2012). Policy makers and academics find remittances attractive because they are a means of financing that reaches households relatively directly and they represent an immediate, flexible and often predictable source of income (Swithern 2014). While remittances often overcome many of challenges faced by humanitarian assistance in regards to timing, distribution and bureaucracy, there are concerns that using remittances as a form of ‘self-insurance’ can distort the post-disaster aid allocation by government and aid organizations. There is also the danger that migration and remittances is utilized as a form of ‘self-help’ for individuals and households attempting to escape poverty, which contributes to the evasion of state responsibility (de Haas 2010). This paper will engage in this debate between Remittance Proponents and Remittance Critics and explore the potential and pitfalls of using remittances as a form of self-help in disaster response.